Free The Enemy Within by James Craig

were not the best of times. He took a deep breath. ‘The wheels of justice have only just begun to turn, so you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself.’
    ‘Oh?’ she scolded. ‘So you haven’t charged him yet?’
    ‘Is he your client?’
    ‘Yes. I have spoken with him this morning and he has dispensed with the services of that Legal Aid idiot that you foisted upon him.’
    ‘We haven’t foisted anyone on him,’ Holt replied, struggling to keep his irritation in check. There was a knock and the desk sergeant’s head appeared round the door.
    ‘Sir?’
    Holt waved him away, waiting for the door to click shut before returning his gaze to the elderly lawyer. ‘Everything is being done by the book on this one, as you would expect.’
    ‘By the book involves an interrogation, without a lawyer, in the middle of the night, does it?’ Olyphant shook her head. ‘I suppose I should be grateful that the boy wasn’t tortured.’
    ‘Is this a private case?’ Holt asked through gritted teeth. ‘Or have you been sent by the union?’
    The lawyer shot him a sharp look. Despite being a strident supporter of the strikers, or perhaps because of it, Ms Olyphant was invariably irritated by any discussion of her apparently boundless willingness to take the NUM shilling. ‘Does it matter?’ she huffed.
    ‘No,’ Holt smiled, ‘not really. I”m just curious about who will be footing what will doubtless be a very large bill.’
    ‘It’s none of your business.’
    He shifted in his seat, wondering if she actually wanted anything, beyond the satisfaction of baiting him. ‘Remind me, how many times have you been through my door in the last few months?’
    ‘Too many,’ was her heartfelt response.
    ‘Approximately.’
    ‘I don’t know, six or seven – something like that.’
    Holt couldn’t resist turning the knife. ‘In every case, we’ve started out having the same conversation about miscarriages of justice. And, in the end, how many of your totally innocent clients have been convicted as charged?’
    A stony look settled on the lawyer’s face.
    ‘You know the answer just as well as I do: one hundred per cent.’ He gestured towards the window. ‘And we’re hardly unique here; it’s the same story up and down the county. The police are doing a hell of a job under almost impossible circumstances.’ It was true, after a fashion. Along with all the extra overtime, the great thing about the dispute was that local magistrates were falling over themselves to convict anyone hauled in front of them on strike-related charges in double-quick time. The conviction rate in Holt’s police station had never been higher.
    Millicent Olyphant crossed her arms. ‘Whatever happens in your kangaroo court, you cannot deny that the Williamson boy has been denied his basic human rights.’
    Tell it to the judge.
    She began recounting the list of transgressions on her fingers. ‘Denied access to counsel, denied sleep, denied—’
    Holt held up a hand. ‘Was there something in particular that I could help you with, Millie?’
    She stiffened slightly at his faux overfamiliarity, letting her hands drop into her lap. ‘I just wanted to let you know that we will be making an official complaint at the earliest opportunity.’
    ‘Fine.’ Holt tried his tea again. This time it was the perfect temperature. He took a mouthful, careful not to slurp in front of his guest. ‘That is your right, and that of your client. All I would say is—’
    ‘What?’
    ‘All I would say is, for once, why don’t you wait and see what happens? Wait and see if he gets off and then make a complaint.’
    ‘In particular,’ she said slowly, ignoring his advice, ‘we will be calling for an urgent investigation into why MI5 was drafted in to run the investigation.’
    Shit, who told you about that? Holt wondered. No doubt, one of the guys in the station has been talking down the pub again. Bloody idiots. None of his colleagues were capable of keeping